Loom



Aug. 11', 1942.

J. o. HUNT LOOM Filed Aug. 5, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 N TOR /Zl m ZM/s ATTORNEYS Filed Aug. 3, 1940' J. b. HUNT LOOM s Shets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEYS J. O. HUNT Aug. 11, 1942.

LOOM

Filed Aug. 3, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 11, 1942 LOOM John 0. Hunt, Ware Shoals, S. 0., assignor to Ware Shoals Manufacturing 00., New York, N. Y., a corporation of South Carolina Application August 3, 1940, Serial No. 350,679

Claims.

This invention relates to looms in which the heddle frames are raised and lowered to produce warp sheds by means of a shedding motion which includes treadles connected to the frames and actuated by cams. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a novel shedding motion for such looms by the use of which the weave of tne fabric being produced may be varied at intervals, and with a, new pattern control for the shedding motion. The loom of the invention may be employed in the production of fabrics made up of recurring sections of weaves of various kinds and, for purposes of explanation, a form of the new loom suitable for the weaving of a fabric consisting of alternating lengths of tubular and plain goods, will be illustrated and described in detail. It is to be understood, however, and will be readily apparent that the utility of the invention is not limited to the production of that specific fabric.

Heretofore, various forms of loom capable of weaving recurring alternate sections of goods of different weave and sometimes referred to as bag looms have been proposed, and some of those looms have been put into actual use. The commercial bag looms, with which I am familiar, are reasonably satisfactory in operation, but they have the limitation that they cannot readily be adjusted to produce small variations in the lengths of the different sections of the fabric and, therefore, practical considerations restrict the variety of their output. Other looms proposed have apparently not gone into use because of objectionable features, such as poor mechanical construction which would result in their being frequently shut down for repair or adjustment.

The present invention is, accordingly, directed to the provision of a loom for production of a fabric made up of alternate sections of different weave, which is superior to prior looms in that it can be readily adjusted to provide for a wide range of variations in the lengths of the sections and is of rugged construction, so that it may be operated for long periods without interruption for repairs. The shedding motion employed is simple to construct and maintain in working order and the pattern device for that motion makes possible the weaving of fabrics in which the lengths of the sections vary from a few picks upward. The pattern device does not require a separate pattern for each typ! of fabric but may readily be altered to produce any modification that may be desired. Also the device is not limited in its utility to use With the new shedding controlling the action of textile machines of various kinds in which operations of two different kinds are to be performed in alternation for periods of different length.

A loom constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention includes a plurality of treadles, for example, four, with each treadle provided with its individual actuating cam. Two

of the treadles are constructed for operation motion but may be advantageously employed for separately or as one and for this purpose, one of the treadles is provided with a movable member which can be shifted between operative and inoperative positions. The movements of the member are preferably effected by electromagnetic means and, when the member is operative, it connects the treadles together so that each is actuated by the actuating cams for both.

Associated with each of the remaining two treadles is-a lever actuated by a cam and each treadle is provided with a member, preferably electromagnetically operated, by which it can be connected to its lever. treadle is actuated by both its own cam and that actuating the lever, and when the treadles and levers are disconnected, each treadle is actuated by its own cam only. If desired, means may also be provided by which, when the treadles are not connected by their members to their levers, the member of one treadle connects the two treadles together, so that each one is actuated by the cams for both.

The pattern device includes a driver element rotated stepwise in synchronism with the operation of the loom and a rotary master element, which is advanced by the driver element at a fraction of the speed thereof. The master element operates once per revolution to shift the shedding motion from one type of operation to the other and to restore the motion to its original operation, and the length of each section of the fabric depends on the length of time required by the master element to complete the arcs which it traverses between changes in the operation of the shedding motion.

The driver and master elements are constructed to effect the production of a fabric made up of pairs of sections of predetermined lengths, and when it is desired to shorten the length of a section, an alteration is made in the master element which causes it to traverse one of its two arcs in a shorter time. This alteration merely involves the addition of parts, each of which adds an increment of speed, and the desired shortening effect may, therefore, be obtained by the addition of more or less of said parts.

When so connected, each Sometimes it is desirable to increase the length of a section of the fabric over that produced by the normal operation of the driver and master elements and for this purpose, a pair of rotary modifier elements are provided, one for each kind of section. Each modifier makes one revolution for one of the two arcs of travel of the master element and normally the modifiers perform no functions during their revolution. However, when it is desired to lengthen one of the sections of the fabric, one of the modifiers is altered and it then acts during its rotation to retard the rotation of the driver element by an amount corresponding to the extent of the alteration. With the movement of the driver retarded, the time required for the master to traverse its arc of travel, during which the particular fabric section is produced, is increased and since the loom speed remains constant, a greater length of fabric is woven in that section.

The pattern device may exercise its control over the apparatus to be controlled through vari ous means but when employed for regulating the action of a form of the shedding motion of the invention in which electromagnetic means are used, the device operates switches by which current is supplied to the electromagnetic means.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a portion of a loom constructed in accordance with the invention with certain parts shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of i the treadles and their actuating cams;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the pattern device; Fig. 4 is a view of the pattern device in side elevation;

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating the drive for the pattern device;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the pattern device; v} Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 1--1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of one of the respectively, of a connecting element which may be carried by one of the treadles; and

Figs. 18 to 23, inclusive, are views in front elevation of the actuating cams, these cams being illustrated in the relative positions that they occupy as shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the loom illustrated includes the usual side frame members connected by girts 26. Mounted in suitable bearings in the loom frame is a cam shaft 21 which carries a gear 28 by which the cam shaft is driven from the main shaft of the loom. The gear has hubs 29 of the clutch type, one of these hubs being engaged with a collar 30 fast on shaft 21, so that the gear is caused to rotate with the shaft. Mounted in a row on the shaft and clutched to the gear and to one another by their hubs are six cams, these cams being held with their hubs in engagement by a nut 3| threaded on the shaft.

The cams are used for the actuation of the treadles and levers, and the cam 32, which lies next to the nut and has the configuration shown in Fig. 18, actuates a lever 33 pivotally mounted at one end on a rod 34 suitably supported on a fixed part of the loom. The lever is provided with a boss 35 to which is attached one end of a spring 33, the other end of the spring being secured to a fixed part of the loom. The lever carries a roller 31, the axle of which is journaled in the walls of a box 31a on the lever with a portion of the roller exposed above the box, and the roller is held in contact with the surface of cam 32 by the spring 36. Beyond the roller, the lever is formed with a vertical channel 38 and the outer end wall 39 of the channel is formed at its lower end with a foot 40 having an upwardly and outwardly sloping under surface 4|. The lever is also provided with a spacing block 42 on its upper surface near its hub 43.

Pivotally mounted on the rod 34 next to the lever 33 is a treadle 44 which has notches 45 in its under surface near its outer end for reception of the loop of a strap connected to a heddle frame, not shown. In accordance with conventional practice, the frame is acted on by a spring which tends to maintain it in uppermost position and it is moved down by the treadle. For this purpose, the treadle is provided with a roller 46, the axle of which is .journaled in the walls of a box 41 forming part of the treadle, and the roller runs in contact with the cam 48 next to cam 32 on the cam shaft and having the configuration shown in Fig, 19. The treadle is formed with a spacing block 49 contacting with block 42 on lever 33.

During the production of one type of weave on the loom, the treadle 44 is connected to lever 33 and moves therewith so that the treadle may be considered to be actuated at that time by both cams 32 and 48. In order to effect the connection, the treadle is provided with a housing 53 on its under surface near its hub and within this housing are mounted solenoids 5| and 52 lying in axial alignment. A core 53 lies within the solenoids and is movable from one end of the housing to the other by the action of the solenoids, the movements being limited by the ends 54 of a U-shaped member attached to the bottom of the housing. The 'core is attached by a'rod '55 'to a bar 56 which lies between 'a pair of plates '51 secured to opposite faces of the treadle. Each plate has a longitudinal 'slot 58 therethrough and the bar carries a pin 59 on which are mounted rollers 60.

On the treadle illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13, there are two rollers on the pin on each side of the bar 56, and the two rollers near 'the bar run in the slots 58 in the plates 57, while the outer rollers on the pin lie outside the plates. When the bar is in its innermost position, illustrated in Figs. 2, 12, and 13, the roller 60a (Fig. 2) lies in line with the channel 38 of lever 33'and the lever'and treadle 44 are disconnected. When the bar 56 is'in its outer most position, the roller 60a lies beneath -and in contact with the sloping under surface 4| of the foot 49 on lever 33, and lever 33 and treadle 44 are then connected together and both are actuated'by cams 32 and 48.

The movement of the bar 56 between its two positions is effected by energization'of the solenoids 5| and. 52 and the supply of current to these solenoids is under the'control of the pattern device which causes the solenoids to be energized for brief periods only. When the treadle and lever are connected together with the roller 60a engaging the under surface of foot 40, the roller is prevented from slipping from beneath the foot by the sloping formation of the surface 4|, as illustrated in Fig. 14.

Mounted next to treadle 44 on rod 34 is a treadle 6| which is similar to treadle 44 except that its pin 62, corresponding to pin 59, carries only three rollers 63, the outer roller having been omitted from the end. of the pin lying at the right in Fig. 2. Mounted on the face of the treadle 6i opposed to the face of treadle 44 is a plate 64 having an opening 65 extending inward from its outer end. This plate is so positioned that when the pin 59 of treadle 44 is in its innermost position, the outer roller 60b of treadle 44 lies within the opening and the two treadles are thereafter connected together. The opening 65 is flared from the outer end surface of the plate and because of the flaring of the walls, the roller 60b tends to remain within the opening once it has been moved thereinto.

The treadle 6| is actuated by cam 66 on the cam shaft, the configuration of the cam being shown in Fig. 20. When the pin 59 on treadle 44 lies in its innermost position and treadles 44 and BI are connected together by the plate 64 and roller 601;, both treadles are actuated by both cams 48, 66.

Mounted next to treadle M on rod 34 is a lever 61 similar in all respects to lever 33 and actuated by cam 68 on the cam shaft, this cam having the configuration illustrated in Fig. 21. When the in 62 on treadle 6| is in its outermost position, the outer roller on the pin lies beneath a foot on lever 61, similar to foot 40, and thereafter, the lever and treadle are connected together and both actuated by cams 66, 68.

Mounted on rod 34 next to lever 61 is a treadle 69 provided with a roller which lies beneath a cam 70 of the configuration shown in Fig. 22. The treadle 69 is not provided with the solenoids, pin, and rollers with which treadle 44 is equipped, but has a laterally projecting portion H beyond its cam roller.

A treadle 12, similar to treadle 6|, is mounted on the rod 34 next to the treadle 69 and is actuated by a cam 13, which has the configuration shown in Fig. 23. When the bar and pin of treadle 12 are in their outermost positions, the outer roller 74 on the pin lies free of the lateral extension H on treadle 69 and the treadles are actuated by their respective cams. When the bar and pin are in their innermost positions, roller 14 lies beneath extension II on treadle 69 and the treadles are connected together and both actuated by cams 10, 13.

The loom illustrated is so constructed as to produce alternate sections of plain and tubular fabric and when the tubing is being woven, treadles 44 and GI are connected, respectively, to levers 33 and 61, and treadles 69 and 12 are .disconnected from one another. In that situation, treadle 44 has a movement determined by cam 32 and, as shown in Fig. 18, this cam has a high point equivalent to three-quarters of a revolution of the cam shaft 21'. The cam shaft rotates once while four picks are being woven into the fabric and cam 32, acordingly, moves the treadle down for three picks and permits it to be up for one pick of a cycle. At the same time, treadle 6| is being actuated by cam 68,

1 surface.

which has the same configuration as cam 32 but is angularly offset therefrom by 180. Accordingly, treadle 6| has a three pick down and one pick up movement out of phase by 180 with treadle 44. Treadles 69 and 12, being disconnected, are actuated only by their respective cams 10 and 13 which have such a shape as to cause the treadles to be held down for one pick and up for three picks per cycle with the treadles out of phase 180. The use of cams having the configurations described and angularly 'olfset as stated results in the weaving of a tubular fabric.

When the pins on treadles 44, 6|, and 12 are in their innermost positions, treadles 44 and 6| are connected together and treadles 69 and 12 are connected together. In that situation, treadles 44 and 6| are both actuated by cams 48 and 66 and in a cycle of four picks, both treadles are alternately up and down. Similarly, treadles 69 and 12 are both actuated by cams l0 and I3 and are also alternately up and down for four picks during one revolution of the cam shaft. The angular positions of cams 48, 66 and of cams l0 and 73 are such that while treadles 44, 6| are down, treadles 69 and 12,are up, and vice versa.

The shifting of the pins on treadles 44, 6| and. 72 for the purpose of changing over the shedding motion from one weave to another is effected in the construction described by means of the solenoids, and the supply of current to the solenoids is controlled by a novel pattern device forming part of my invention. The pattern device is mounted on one of the loom girts 15 and it comprises rotary elements l6, l1, l8, and 79, which have the form of ratchet wheels and are mounted for free rotation on a stud extending outwardly from the face of the girt. The wheel 16, which for convenience will be referred to as the driver, has a disc 8| attached to its face opposed to the girt, the disc having a single depression in its Between adjacent wheels are discs 82 of friction material and the wheels are forced together toward the girt to clamp the friction discs between them by a collar 83 on rod 80 which is pressed against disc 79 by a spring 84 encircling the rod and seated at its outer end against a nut 85. The rod 85 is formed with a lengthwise channel (Fig. 9) in which portions of the friction discs are seated so that these'discs are held against movement with the ratchet wheels and prevent overrunning thereof. Return movement of the wheels is prevented by step pawls 86 mounted on a rod 81 extending outward from the girt 15, the pawls being forced against the wheels by individual leaf springs 88 attached to a bar 89 secured to the g'irt.

Mounted for rocking movement on a portion of the rod 80 at the rear side of the girt is a bell crank 90, one arm of which is pivotally connected by a pin 9| to a pull rod 92 attached to one end of a lever 93 pivoted on a suitable part of the loom frame. The lever 93 carries a roller 94 held against the surface of a cam 95 on cam shaft 2? by means of a spring (not shown) which is attached at one end to the lever and at the other end to a suitable part of the loom framework. The cam 95 has a shape such that the lever 93 is depressed in two steps and returned to normal position in a single step for each revolution thereof and the bell crank is, therefore, correspondingly rocked two short steps in its advancing direction and one long step in its return.

The upper arm of the bellcrank has two branches and one branch carries a pin 66 which extends over the group of ratchet wheels and carries a multiple pawl 91 having portions engaging the teeth on the driver I6 and on two wheels F8, 19, which may .be referred to as modifiers, the pawl being held in contact with the teeth by a spring 98. Mounted in the other branch is a second rod 99 extending over the group of ratchet wheels and provided with a pawl I engaging the teeth on the wheel H, which may be referred to as the master wheel. A block ml is mounted on the girt beneath the rod 99 and close to the surface of disc .BI, and the upper surface of the block has the same curvature as the disc SI and its length is one-half the arc of travel of bell crank 90. The pawl I00 has an extension I02 overlying the edge of the disc and the top of the block and as the pawl is moved back and forth, the extension bears against the top of the block and the edge of the disc. The block keeps the pawl from engagement with the teeth of the master wheel I! during the first step of its movement and the disc prevents engagement of the teeth by the pawl during the second step of the movement until the depression in the edge of the disc comes beneath the extension. When the disc is in that position, the extension on itse next forward movement is kept raised by the edge of the block for the first step and thereafter drops into the depression, engages a tooth on the master wheel, and, in its second step, advances the wheel by one tooth.

The driver and master may have any desired number of teeth, depending on the nature of the fabric to be produced, but for one specific product, namely, material containing 80 picks to the inch to be used for the manufacture of diapers and made in unit lengths about a yard long, it is desirable to provide the driver with 20 teeth and the master with teeth. A revolution of the master corresponds to the production of such a unit length of fabric, which contains one section of plain weave and one of tubular weave. Accordingly, during one rotation of the master, the shedding motion is changed over from one weave to the other and back again under control of the master.

The changing of the shedding motion from one weave to the other is effected by proper energization of the solenoids on the treadles and, for this purpose, current is supplied to the solenoids under the control of four mercury switches I03,

I03a. Pairs of these switches are mounted on rods I04 for free swinging movement and the rods are secured to a plate I05 secured to the under surface of the loom girt 15. Each switch is provided with a sleeve I06 fitting loosely on its rod and attached to the sleeve is a gear I01. The rods extend through openings in a plate I08 which serves to separate the gears of the two switches on each rod and hold the gears in proper position against movement endwise of the rod.

Extending outwardly from the plate I05 are rods I09, H0, which pass through openings in the plate I08, and each of the rods carries a pair of freely movable quadrant members III, I I2. Each of the four quadrant members meshes with the gear I01 of a switch, and aligned pairs of quadrant members on the rods I09 and H0 are connected together by a spring I I3. Each of the members I II and H2 is provided with a stop lug H4 and the springs tend to swing the quadrant members to which they are connected to a position in which their stop lugs bear against portions of the plate I08. Normally, the switches are open and in the upright position illustrated in Fig. 6 and when the quadrant member of any switch is swung in a clockwise direction about the rod I00, IIO on which it is mounted, the switch is moved to horizontal position. This closes a circuit through the switch and permits the flow of current to certain solenoids.

In the construction shown, closing of the switches I03 causes energization of the inner solenoids which are adjacent the hubs of treadles 44, BI, and I2 and those solenoids, when energized, cause inward movement of the pins on the treadles which carry the rollers, such as 60a. By such inward movement of the pins, treadles 44 and 6| are connected together and treadles 69 and 12 are connected together so that the loom weaves plain goods. Of the switches I03, the one farther from plate I05 controls the solenoid on treadle 6| and the one nearer the plate I05 controls the .solenoids on treadles 44 and I2. The outer solenoids on the treadles are similarly controlled by switches I03a and on outward movement of the pins on the treadles by energization of the outer solenoids, the shedding motion is changed over from the plain weave to the produc tion of tubular fabric.

The closing of the switches is effected by the swinging of the quadrant plates by means of blocks II5, H6 carried .by the master wheel TI on opposite faces thereof. These blocks are in position to engage the tails of the quadrant plates as the master wheel rotates, and the blocks are angularly offset so that the switches of a pair will .be :closed consecutively. The reason for such successive closing of the switches of a pair is that the pin on a treadle can be shifted by the associated solenoid only when the treadle is in a specific position, and the blocks are offset by the proper amount to insure that the solenoids will be energized when the treadle pins may be freely moved.

The master wheel ordinarily advances one tooth per revolution of the driver and, consequently, if no provision were made for changing this operation, the one tooth movement of the master wheel which would cause block II5 to close one switch I03 would be followed by a period of rest of the master wheel equal to a complete revolution of the driver wheel before closing of the second switch I03. This would prevent the shedding motion from performing its proper functions and to overcome that difficulty, a plate II'I (Fig. 11) is mounted on the master wheel on top of one of the teeth, the plate having such a shape that its rear surface constitutes a prolongation -of the rear surface of the tooth II To upon which it is mounted and its upper surface constitutes a prolongation of the upper surface of the next preceding tooth II"). The tooth I-I'Ia is two teeth to the rear of tooth If'Ic, which tooth is engaged by the pawl to advance the master wheel to cause block I I5 thereon to swingquadrant I I2 and close the first switch I03. On the next; advance of the pawl, it immediately engages the plate III So that in the first step of the pawl movement, the master wheel is advanced and block II5 releases the tail of quadrant II2 of the switch I03 that has been closed, permitting that switch to be opened automatically. At the same time, block II6 acts on the quadrant of the otherswitch I03 and closes that switch. In the second step of the advancing movement of the pawl while it remains in engagement with the plate I H, the master wheel is advanced sufficiently to cause block M6 to release the quadrant II2 with which it has been in contact and thus permit the second switch I03 to be opened. The application of the plate H1 to a tooth on the master wheel thus insures that the switches will be operated consecutively and with only a brief period of closure and it also has the effect of putting out of action the tooth on the master wheel next preceding that on which it is mounted.

After the switches I03 have thus been closed and the 100m has begun to produce the section of plain fabric or stripe, the shedding motion remains in condition to produce that weave until the master wheel has been advanced to the point where, on its next movement, the block H5 will engage the quadrant member III of one of the switches 33a and effect closing of that switch. The consecutive opening and closing of the two switches 13a is accomplished in the desired time interval by the application of a second plate H! to the proper tooth on the master wheel. When switches lfi3a are closed, all the outer solenoids on the treadles are energized and this results in treadles 44 and BI being connected, respectively, to levers 33 and 61, so that they are moved therewith, and treadles 59 and I2 being disconnected from one another. With the shedding motion in that condition, the loom produces tubular fabric and this operation continues until the master wheel has been rotated sufficiently to cause blocks H5, H5 to actuate switches I03 a second time.

The construction shown is intended to produce a fabric having relatively long tubular sections and relatively short stripe sections. Accordingly, the switches I03 and lfi3a are mounted so that their quadrant plates lie relatively close together along the path of travel of the blocks H5, H6. The arc through which one of the blocks I I5, I I6 travels from its point of contact with a quadrant plate H2 to a quadrant plate III thus corresponds to the weaving of the stripe and the arc of travel between the point of contact of the block with quadrant plate III and quadrant plate H2 corresponds to the weaving of the tubing. In some instances, it may be desirable to produce a fabric in which the sections are of equal length. In that case, the positions of the switches and quadrant plates are altered so that the arcs of travel above mentioned are equal.

If the master wheel were not equipped with two plates III, a complete revolution of the driver would be required to advance the master by one tooth and thus, in the given case with the driver provided with 20 teeth and advanced one tooth per revolution of the cam shaft and the master provided with 40 teeth, one revolution of the master would corespond to 800 revolutions.

of the shaft. Since 4 picks are woven into the fabric in each revolution of the cam shaft, a complete revolution of the master would correspond to the weaving in of 3200 picks, that is, to the production of 40" of fabric having picks to the inch. However, two plates I I! must be applied to the master to effect closing and opening of switches of each pair in rapid succession, and each plate puts out of action the tooth on the master immediately preceding that on which the plate is mounted, that is, the application of plate H'I to the tooth H'Ia puts tooth illb out of action. Also, when the master pawl has advanced tooth HIc and then moved back behind the plate In, the pawl in its next forward movement at once engages the plate and advances the master instead of remaining ineffective until the driver has completed a revolution and the depression in the disc 8I- has moved in front of the nose of the pawl. Accordingly, the presence of the plate III speeds up the advance of the master so that the master moves forward by two teeth on one revolution of the cam shaft corresponding to 4 picks. With the two plates I I1 employed, therefore, there are only 36 of the 40 teeth on the master which correspond to the weaving of 80 picks apiece and while the master is being advanced by engagement of its pawl with those teeth, 2880 picks are being woven. While the master is being advanced by engagement of the pawl with each plate H1, the master and driver operate at the same speed and the master performs no accumulating function. Accordingly, a complete revolution of the master provided with 36 short teeth and two plates H'I corresponds to the weaving of a length of fabric 36" long containing 2880 picks.

The mounting of a plate III on a tooth of the master thus shortens the unit length of fabric and if alternate teeth of the master are provided with plates, the master will operate as if it were a 20 tooth wheel and will, therefore, rotate at the same speed as the driver so that the unit length of fabric will contain 80 picks. If a single plate I I'Id, additional to those required for switch actuation, is applied to the master, plate H'Id will put the tooth immediately ahead of it out of action so that, in one stroke of the pawl I00 while it is in engagement with the plate, the master will be advanced by two of its teeth. This advance will occur while 4 picks are being Woven in instead of the picks which would normally be woven in during such an advance, if plate H'Id were omitted. The application of the plate HId consequently reduces the unit length of fabric by 156 picks.

If a second additional plate H'Ie is applied to the master immediately behind plate I I'Id, the rear end of plate Il'Ie will lie adjacent the forward edge of block IOI,'when pawl I00 has completed the stroke during which it is in engagement with plate H1d. Accordingly, when the pawl makes its next forward movement, it will not engage the plate II 1e during the first step thereof, but only during the second step. The engagement of the pawl with the plate H1e will thus cause an advance of the master wheel by only one tooth and during that advance, 4 picks will be woven in the fabric. Accordingly, the application of plate II'Ie to the tooth immediately following that On which plate H'Id is mounted shortens the fabric by only 76 picks. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by application of plates II! to the master in varying arrangements, varying reductions of the length of the fabric unit may be obtained.

The relative lengths of the sections in a unit lenth of fabric depend basically on the lengths of the arcs through which the master travels between the points of switch actuation, but the mechanism is so constructed that the relative lengths of the sections and the unit length may be increased, if desired. For this purpose, the modifiers I8 and I9 are employed.

Each modifier is similar in all respects to the driver I6, except that one tooth has been omitted, and each modifier carries a pin H8 lying in such position as to be engaged by blocks H5, H6 on the master. Normally, the modifiers are at rest with the places from which teeth have been omitted lying beneath the ends of extensions on the pawl 91 by which the driver is advanced, and the modifiers remain in this position until advanced by the blocks H5, H6 engaging th pins H8. One modifier is active during the formation of the stripe and the other during the formation of the tubing.

Assuming that the modifiers are at rest with the pin on modifier Hi just beyond the tail of one of the quadrants HI (Fig. '7) and the pin on modifier l9 just beyond the tail of one of the quadrants H2 (Fig. the next step in the advance of the master, beyond that which will cause block 1 L5 to rock a quadrant l l2 and close the associated switch :83, will cause the pin H8 on modifier 19 to be engaged by the block H5 and the modifier advanced so that one of its teeth passes beyond the end of pawl 91. The modifier will then be advanced by one tooth for each action of the pawl until the modifier has completed a revolution and the place from which the tooth is missing again lies beneath the end of the pawl. During this period, the loom will weave the stripe and by the time the modifier has returned to its initial position, the block H5 on the master will have moved past the place then occupied by pin H8 on modifier T9. The modifier will, accordingly, remain at rest until again brought into action by engagement of block I I5 with its pin.

The modifier 18 is similarly brought into action during the weaving of the tubing by engagement of block IE6 on the master with pin H8 on the modifier. One of the modifiers thus makes a complete revolution during the time that the loom is weaving the stripe and the other makes a complete revolution while the loom is weaving the tubing.

In order to lengthen a section of the fabric, for example, the tubing, one or more plates H8 are applied to the teeth of modifier 19 which makes a revolution during the weaving of the tubing. The plates H9 serve to increase the height of the modifier teeth and whenever the pawl 91 rests upon such a plate, the pawl passes over the teeth of the driver in its advancing movement. Accordingly, for every plate thus applied to the modifier, the driver remains at rest during one advancing movement of the pawl, that is, the driver remains at rest for one tooth corresponding to the weaving in of 4 picks. With the driver thus at rest, the time required for the master to move through its arc of travel during which the tubing is being woven is correspondingly increased and, since the loom runs at constant speed, the length of the tubing section is similarly increased. As the addition of one plate H9 to the modifier lengthens the tubing section by 4 picks and there are 19 teeth on the modifier, the application of a plate H9 to each tooth thereof will increase the length of the tubing section by 76 picks. A similar lengthening of the stripe section can be obtained by the application of plates H9 to the modifier 19.

By applying to the master only the two plates required for consecutive operation of the switches and applying a plate to each tooth of each modifier, the control mechanism will cause the loom to produce a fabric unit of maximum length containing 2880+7fi+7fi=3032 picks, or 37.9 of 80 pick goods. If evely other tooth on the master is equipped with a plate and no plates are applied to the modifiers, the master will rotate at the same speed as the driver and the unit will be of minimum length and will contain 80 picks. This minimum length can be increased in 4 pick steps to 232 picks by adding plates to the modifiers and the increase will appear in the tubing or the stripe, depending on the modifier to which such a plate is applied. Increases beyond a length of 232 picks are effected by removing plates from the master and variations in small steps between the minimum and maximum fabric lengths can be obtained by the use of suitable combinations of plates on the master and modifiers.

The use of the plates on the master wheel thus permits variations in the length of the fabric unit between and 2880 picks, and the use of the plates on the modifier wheels permits the length of the fabric unit, as determined by the master wheel, to be increased in 4 pick steps up to a total of 152 picks. Accordingly, application of plates to all the teeth of the modifier wheels will increase the length of the fabric to 3032 picks. Variations in the respective lengths of the tubing and stripe sections may be made either by altering the positions of the switches relative to one another or by adding plates to the modifiers. Also, by employing driver, master, and modifier wheels having other numbers of teeth than those shown, the control mechanism can be employed in the production of fabric units of greater length than those described and having sections of varying relationship.

In the foregoing, the control mechanism of the invention has been described as applied to a loom to control the shedding motion thereof. It will be apparent, however, that its utility is not limited to controlling the operation of looms and that it may be employed advantageously in controlling the operation of various kinds of machines which are to operate in cycles during which they function for part of a cycle in one manner and for the remainder of the cycle in a different manner.

I claim:

1. In a loom having four heddle frames, the combination of four treadles each adapted to be connected to one of the frames, a cam for operating each treadle, a pair of levers, a cam for operating each lever, a member mounted on one of the treadles and movable between two positions, in one of which it connects its treadle to one of the levers and in the other of which it connects its treadle to a second treadle, a member mounted on said second treadle and operable to connect said treadle to the second lever and to disconnect the treadle therefrom, a member mounted on the third treadle and operable to connect said treadle to and to disconnect it from the fourth treadle, and pattern means for controlling the operation of the individual members.

2. In a loom having four heddle frames, the combination of four treadles each adapted to be connected to one of the frames, a cam for operating each treadle, a pair of levers, a cam for operating each lever, a member mounted on one of the treadles and movable between two positions, in one of which it connects its treadle to one of the levers and in the other of which it connects its treadle to a second treadle, a member mounted on said second treadle and operable to connect said treadle to the second lever and to disconnect the treadle therefrom, a member mounted on the third treadle and operable to connect said treadle to and to disconnect it from the fourth treadle, electromagnetic means on the respective treadles for individually operating the members mounted thereon, and pattern means for controlling the operation of said electromagnetic means.

3. In a loom having a heddle frame, a treadle adapted to be connected to the frame, a cam for operating the treadle, a lever mounted beside the treadle, a cam for operating the lever, a pin mounted on the treadle, a guideway for the pin extending lengthwise of the treadle, a solenoid mounted on the treadle with its axis lengthwise of the treadle and having a plunger attached to the pin, and pattern means for causing the solenoid to move the pin from one end of the guideway to the other, the lever having a portion engageable by the pin when the latter is at one end of the guideway and a portion by which the pin may pass when the latter is at the other end of the guideway, the treadle being operated by both its own and the lever cam when the pin is in engagement with the lever.

4. In a loom having a heddle frame, a treadle adapted to be connected to the frame, a cam acting on the treadle from above to operate it, a lever mounted beside the treadle, a cam acting on the lever from above to operate it, a pin mounted on the under side of the treadle, a guideway for the pin extending lengthwise of the treadle, a solenoid mounted on the treadle and having a plunger attached to the pin and operable by the solenoid to move the pin from one end of the guideway to the other, the lever having a portion engageable from beneath by the pin when the latter is at one end of the guideway and another portion by which the pin may pass when the latter is at the other end of the guideway, and pattern means for controlling the action of the solenoid, the treadle being actuated by both its own and the lever cam, when the pin is in engagement with the lever.

5. In a loom having a pair of heddle frames, .2. pair of treadles adapted to be connected to the frames, a cam for operating each treadle, a pair of levers mounted in parallel relation with the treadles between them, a, cam for operating each lever, a member mounted on one treadle and movable between two-positions, in the first of which it connects the treadle to one lever and in the other of which it connects the two treadles together, a member mounted on the second treadle and movable to and from an operative position in which it connects the second treadle to the second lever, means for moving the individual members, and pattern means for controlling the action of said moving means.

, JOHN O. HUNT. 

